As the Tweet below reveals: campaign manager Lewandowski has been neutered, and Paul Manafort has been elevated. Which means that the Trump campaign will stop being about trying to win races and start being about trying to protect delegates. Which is probably their smartest move, but it’s not necessarily ‘smart’ as an objective benchmark. (more…)

Don’t let that last sentence get in the way of enjoying this looming confrontation. After all, David Plouffe is merely a mercenary: Uber bought him fair and square, which was of course their privilege. Heck, for enough money the Republican nominee could buy Plouffe next year…

[NYC Mayor Bill] de Blasio is about to cap the number of drivers of Ubers and other for-hire car companies, a move that will in turn place limits on a service that is popular among its users, and which has no organized opposition. He is walking into a political buzzsaw: Uber has endless cash, real panic about getting capped in its biggest market, and every incentive to make an example of the high-profile New York mayor. The campaign is being run by David Plouffe, who once pulled off the rather impressive feat of persuading Democrats to hate the Clintons, and who immediately made it personal.

So, let’s be dispassionate about this. If Uber wins, then Mayor de Blasio gets metaphorically kicked in the testicles. This is, of course, a good thing. But if de Blasio wins, then the Democratic nominee next year is going to keep being stuck in a position where s/he has to keep defending attacks on a cab service that a critical part of his/her base – young people – kind of love. Plus, attacking Uber just makes the attacker look old. …Which the Democratic nominee will be, of course.

Moe Lane

PS: I don’t know if anybody’s mentioned this to Buzzfeed yet, but the problem for the Left with de Blasio turning Uber into the NRA is that the NRA keeps winning. Although I have to give them credit for accurately describing Governor Andrew Cuomo as somebody whose ‘favorite hobby is humiliating the mayor.’

The administration of Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo agreed on Friday to suspend a plan to require background checks on ammunition sales, putting in doubt part of the gun control law that he considers one of his proudest legacies.

Dean G. Skelos, the leader of the New York State Senate, and his son are expected to be arrested on federal corruption charges next week, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

The expected arrests, coming roughly three months after federal bribery and kickback charges led Assemblyman Sheldon Silver to step down as speaker, would signal an extension of the investigation into allegations of political corruption in Albany, and would almost certainly further upend the legislative session.

Mayor de Blasio whined to a crowd of hayseeds in the Midwest about how New Yorkers are too mean to him at baseball games — and said he was jealous how well his Milwaukee counterpart is greeted by fans.

“I had the pleasure of taking in a Brewers game with Mayor Tom Barrett last night,” de Blasio told a group at a speech Saturday in Milwaukee. “I was struck by how many people kept coming up to the mayor to thank him for his service.”

…same as the old Assembly Speaker: “The Bronx Democrat on the verge of becoming the next Assembly speaker paid his baby mama $2,500 from his campaign treasury — raising ethical concerns following disgraced Sheldon Silver’s corruption bust, The [New York] Post has learned.” It’s a fairly picayune, yet hardly uncommon, maneuver: take someone who you’d like to give some money and hire him/her to do a specific job. S/he doesn’t know how to do it? Well, subcontract it out! If you’ve thought ahead then you’ve already overpaid him/her by enough that s/he can just hire somebody to actually do the job at the regular market rate and still come out ahead on the deal. Best part of all? If you do it with campaign money, it doesn’t count. (more…)

Oh my droogies, the knives are now out: “Assembly Democrats emerged this evening and announced that Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver will vacate his position as of Monday and Assembly Majority Leader Joseph Morelle will serve as speaker until Feb. 10, when an election would be held.” Basically, it’s a quit, or be ousted moment; they apparently don’t actually have a commitment from Silver that he’ll go quietly. Which means if Sheldon Silver does not care to go quietly… (more…)

Because I am a deeply, deeply unfair man, I will only link to this funny Onion eye-roll – “As a major winter storm continued its advance toward New York City, Mayor Bill de Blasio advised residents Monday to make peace with whatever higher power they call God, for all shall meet their death in the coming tempest.” – and note that maybe Democratic New York governor Andrew Cuomo should have kept the NYC subways running last night, GIVEN THAT THEY HAD TO RUN LAST NIGHT ANYWAY. Sheesh. These people.

Mind you, I’m debating whether to spend the morning yelling at my county government for shutting down all the schools again. On the one hand, most of my county is fairly rural. On the other hand, ‘fairly rural’ should mean ‘decent at adapting to weather.’ On the gripping hand, my county and state just elected Republicans to the top executive positions, so it’s my civic duty to keep my party’s politicians on the straight and narrow, no?